Pages

Anu Lal's Books

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Lungi: The Story Continues.

This
is part fiction and part darn non-fiction

Image Courtesy: Google

“Don’t
you dare, poke a staff in the eye of an angry mammoth!” An outrageous Mohanlal
shouts at the villains in the Malayalam movie, Narasimham (2000). As part of the
accompanying gesticulations, he slops his right shoulder down at an angle and
raises the left leg and tags the white dhoti up, folding it around his waste,
ready to attack the baddies.

“What
shall I do sir? My father asks me to wear a lungi at home. A full NO to Bermuda shorts!” The student asks over the phone. I stand
puzzled.

Then
I try saying; “The white dhoti, “mundu” is the traditional male clothing in
Kerala. It’s part of the formal dressing style and is used for most of the
auspicious occasions such as festivities in temples and marriages, you know.
Even kings wrap a dhoti in order to show their affluence and importance. The
informal version of dhoti is ‘lungi’. Look at the variety of colours that are
available for lungi. In most of the households, male members of the family wrap
lungi at home. It’s a leisurely dress, and no need to be ashamed of putting it
on. Mundu or lungi is not as complex as the Highland
outfit of the Scots. You just wrap it around you waist and it’s comfortable,
very.”

“Sir,
I have seen women wear it too, surely taking on an attempt to lure the opposite
sex. Seen it in old movies of the eighties!” The boy says.

Image Courtesy: Google

Ample
examples, where lungi or mundu becomes a crucial motif in movies, show the
affluence of this traditional wear in the mind of Keralites, even at a time
when most of the youth prefers wearing a Bermuda shorts or half pants or shorts
at home. To feel at home, I would rather say. Perhaps, lungi it is very
air-allowing and easy to wear. Kerala is a hot place, and, of course, this
justifies the choice of lungi or mundu as the traditional dress.

“Look,
a white mundu is such a proud wear.” I try to convince him. The informal lungi
can be a very convenient trial tool to learn how to wrap mundu on more formal
occasions.

I
wait.

For
a moment, my student on the other end of the phone is silent. Then he speaks;
“Sir, most often when people fold the lungi up their knee, they look like
standing with a barrel attached to your waist. Of course, then there is no pointing
in hiding what lies beneath, with a large opening. No stitching to cover the
groin. If you stand on a neatly polished surface, with lungi folded or mundu this
is a guarantee that you could not hide your secrets from a nearby person!”

Image Courtesy: Google

The
boy is very open in his concerns and he is right too.

“Why
such a vulgarity is hailed the traditional dress is out of my logic.” He barks
to no one other end.

It
is my turn, now. So I say; “The question here is not which dress is the best,
but how can we put an end to this problem by making your father happy and not
making you much uncomfortable.”

“Hmm…”

“You
should take inspiration from movies. That was what I did, when the similar
problems surfaced. Then I was doing my twelfth.” I say, proud.

“What
did you do then, sir?”

“I
was asked to wear lungi when I was at home. Shorts were prohibited. And my
parents were really strict those days. So I looked up at Mohanlal and Mammooty
for inspiration. All those great actors preferred mundu in their movies, as
their clothing. They were stylish and masculine. The movie Narasimham is one
example. Then there is Vallyettan, Sphatikam, and many others.”

The
boy seems to think for some seconds. Then says; “In movies, the more there is
mundu or lungi, the more there would be vulgarities and obscenities, considered
by directors, scriptwriters, fans and the actors themselves as a sign of
masculinity. Sir, do you remember that fight scene in Narasimham?” the boy
asked.

“Yea,”
I say.

“The
hero’s mundu goes up and down, revealing his innerwear and thighs in the
nastiest manner possible. And every one in the theatre claps and shouts at the
sight of this manliness. And…and…sir, even cinema, these days has shown signs
of changing its outfits and style!”

Image Courtesy: Google

He
is right. So I just hang up. But before I did, I had told him this; “Those who
pay, order. You have one choice and one option; obey.”

And
before hanging up my student had asked me; “Is this, what tradition is all
about?”

I contribute to

Visitors

About Anu Lal

Anu Lal is on Amazon's bestseller list with his new book You Should Know How I Feel...An
Indian author of CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE in Amazon's bestseller list!! You
Should Know How I Feel is in Amazon top 100 paid e books in
CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE, above, E. L James, Barbara Taylor Bradford,
Melissa Foster, Colleen Hoover and the like!! Get your copies and feel
the passionate love within... http://tinyurl.com/nweeqb4